Last Chance
by Patricia de Lioncourt
Summary: Sequel Companion to Alone. Lacriox appears before Tara once more, with a sense of urgency, with the same offer...


A/N- Okay, so I hadn't originally planned to do a companion…but I did. This is a sequel companion to "Alone." The time setting for Forever Knight is the same as "Alone," after the last episode of the series…the time for Buffy-verse will become obvious as you read. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer- I don't own Buffy; that belongs to Whedon. I don't own Forever Knight; that belongs to Columbia Tristar and its creators.

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**Last Chance**

"_Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do."_

--Unknown Author

Tara could've danced all the way to Buffy's home. Willow was doing better in her magics, completely clean, and they were blissfully back together. They had spent the last two days, practically, in bed together. She had only left now to get some clothes from her apartment. She grinned, patting her clothes-stuffed messenger bag. Really, she could have reenacted a scene from _Singing in the Rain_. That was, until, she saw who waited for her outside of Buffy's house.

He was leaning against the tree in Buffy's front yard, on the side of the trunk out of the house's view. He grinned at her. Again, dressed in all black and looking no different from the weeks—or had it been months?—before when she had encountered him in The Bronze, Lacroix grinned at her.

"Good evening, Tara," he said cordially.

Tara took a deep breath and spoke aloud the one thought that kept her from panicking.

"You know, you're right outside a Slayer's house…and she's inside. All I have to do is scream…"

His grin widened. "My dear, the Slayer does not worry me that much. With my age and experience, I would be a most difficult kill. And I'm all together a different type of vampire than she is used to…yes, she would have a hard time of killing me."

"But she could kill you."

"Perhaps."

Tara's eyes shot towards the house. Usually, Buffy could tell if a vampire was even around the block from where she was. Now, she seemed oblivious. She could see the blonde woman's ponytail from one on the second floor's windows. Her eyes widened.

"What do you want?" she asked, hugging herself against the chill of the night.

"I'm giving you one last chance…one last offer. You could come with me, Tara, and live forever," he said, standing straight now, but still hidden from view by the tree.

"But I'm not lonely anymore," she protested.

If he decided to attack her, she had no hope. All she could even begin to wish for was that he didn't really want her as bad as he seemed to. Or that he really liked her. Or somewhere in between.

"You're special, Tara. You'd make a wonderful addition to our kind."

Tara shook her head. "N-no. I won't leave her."

At this, Lacroix cast an eye to another second floor window, where Willow's vibrant red hair was visible. Being a vampire, Tara was sure that he could probably see every detail of Willow…but the hair was all she could see from the street.

"Ah…yes, your lover. Meaningless, in the grand scheme of things," he said, looking back to Tara. "Don't let yourself go to waste. Come with me."

The way he had asked her again seemed charged with urgency. Tara blinked at him.

"Why do you want _me_ so badly? I don't understand."

He sighed, looking away. "I'm old, Tara. Older than probably any other vampire you've ever met. In my time, you can see power and potential power in people. You have both. But…you can also sense trouble. You've got doom all over you. I can save you from that. All you have to do…is take my hand."

Again, like he had in The Bronze, he held his hand to her. Again, she refused. He sighed.

"I can take you by force," he said matter-of-factly.

This stunned her. But she forced herself to speak, to defend herself.

"But…do you really want a vampire who doesn't want to be a vampire?" she asked, grasping for straws.

His eyes took on a strange look, like he was reminiscing. Then, he smiled, a bit ruefully.

"No…I've already had one son give me trouble. No…I'll leave you be. But there is doom, Tara. Yours is not a happy ending."

"If I get to be with Willow just a little longer…well, then it's fine by me," she said.

In a blink, he was gone. Tara took a deep, long breath, and exhaled it. Two brushes with death…yes, she was back with Buffy's gang. She made her way inside, to Willow's room and warm arms.

The next morning, all Tara remembered saying to Willow was, "Your shirt,"—her very own blood splattered across it—before her world was no more.

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End Notes: Okay, so this is it for this one-shot series! I'm sorry that it was shorter than the previous...it just sort of happened this way. Hope you enjoyed it!


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